Summer is on its way; there are a million things you want to do, other than work. For anyone, from management to the C-suite, it can be difficult to stay motivated. After all, you are expected to motivate and encourage your team through their periods of demotivation. I’ve come up with a few ideas. They aren’t revolutionary, but I do hope you will find them —motivating.

Love Your Work

Loving your job is not only “nice-to-have”, rather it is essential to our overall well-being. After all, the workplace is the where we spend most our waking hours. Being unhappy at work leads to being unhappy at home, which is pervasive in our society. At some point in our lives, we have all worked at a job that we didn’t necessarily enjoy. It paid the bills and kept you busy but could you imagine spending the rest of your life there? Being at a job that you don’t love can not affect you both mentally and physically, and it can also impact the company that you work for.

Believe in What You Do

In today’s cynical world, it is a great feeling to believe that what you do is changing other’s lives for the better. Entire companies are founded on this principle alone. It is also one of the driving factors behind Millennial recruitment. The opportunity to do good doesn’t end at the office; studies show that companies who engage the community around them are growing at faster rates and enjoying higher job satisfaction scores than companies who are not as altruistic and involved.

Make People Proud

Be the kind of boss that your employees are proud to work for. Create a culture that your employees are proud to call their own. Also, find pride in your team. Acknowledge their contributions and let them know you are proud of their accomplishments, as well.

Focus on the Big Picture

When the day-to-day is too mundane or repetitive, it can be very demotivating. By focusing on the big picture goals you, your team, or your company have set, you can find the motivation you need to lead.

Staying motivated in today’s business environment can be difficult. Yes, there will always be times you’ll lose heart, get busy, or become tired. But when you take responsibility for motivating yourself and others, you are better able to lead, inspire, reach your goals and leave a mark. What is more motivating than that?

Our strategy focuses on enabling our clients to recruit the right people for the structure in which they will perform. Please contact us to learn more about our expertise in Executive Search for Commercial Leadership positions in Medical Device and Biotechnology; including Marketing, Strategy, Sales Leadership, Training, Development, etc. We look forward to the opportunity to help you consistently improve your performance and your business!

The standard approach for chemotherapy is to apply the maximum tolerable dose of the drug or combination of drugs with the goal of eliminating the cancer tumor. But a group of researchers at Oregon State University, along with some scientists in the UK, have developed a different approach to cancer treatment, according to Science Daily. While the goal of achieving total remission of cancer remains the same, the intermediate step is to control the tumor, inhibiting its growth, and thus treating cancer as a chronic disease.

One example of how that approach works is to use two drugs used to treat ovarian cancer in tandem, paclitaxel, which attacks the cancer cells directly, and rapamycin, which inhibits the growth of cancer cells and the blood vessels that nourish them. The drugs are delivered at one-tenth to one-third of the maximum tolerable dosage using a nanoparticle delivery system that precisely hits the tumor and leaves the surrounding tissue unmolested.

The problem with standard chemotherapy is that it often has to be paused for the patient to recover from the side effects. The pause can allow the cancer time to reassert itself. The new method can be delivered continuously because the toxicity for the patient has been reduced to almost zero. It allows the patient’s natural ability to maintain health and assist in the fight against the cancer.

The research is promising and will likely be applicable to a variety of complicated and hard to treat cancers. It could constitute a new type of cancer treatment that will be easier for the patient to tolerate, as it will have fewer side effects.

Our strategy focuses on enabling our clients to recruit the right people for the structure in which they will perform. Please contact us to learn more about our expertise in Executive Search for Commercial Leadership positions in Medical Device and Biotechnology; including Marketing, Strategy, Sales Leadership, Training, Development, etc. We look forward to the opportunity to help you consistently improve your performance and your business!

In the field of stroke treatment, there is a saying “time is brain.” This is because every minute with a clot a patient loses millions of brain cells. Stroke patients living near one to the nation’s Comprehensive Stroke Centers (CSC) are luckier than most. In 2015, 81 percent of stroke patients treated at CSCs had been treated within two hours of their arrival. That is up from 22 percent, in 2013. Early intervention is key to decreasing recovery time, as well. Many patients who may have been sent to a nursing home were able to go to a rehab center instead, and patients who would have needed to go to rehab were able to go home.

Stenting and Clot Removal Capabilities and CSCs

According to the 2015 study, over 60 percent of stroke patients treated with a stent and retriever resumed full independence and function after three months. That is compared with 35 percent of those who were treated with drugs alone. It is estimated that one-third of Americans who suffer strokes each year are found to have blockages in their arteries large enough to be treated with clot-retrieving stents. However, only about 28,000 were actually treated with one last year, according to Stacey Pugh, VP of Medtronic’s Neurovascular Division. The reason is due to a lack of facilities, staff, and trained physicians.

Too Few Comprehensive Stroke Centers in the US

According to research, there are only 150- 200 facilities in the U.S. recognized as Comprehensive Stroke Centers. As a result, procedures like neurovascular stenting and clot removal, just aren’t available in many parts of the country.

This is unfortunate on many levels. First, there is the aspect of improved patient outcome which correlates directly with treatment received at comprehensive stroke centers. This is observed in both types of stroke, hemorrhagic and ischemic. There are also the improved outcomes including shortened recovery times associated with neurovascular stenting and clot removal. Finally, the cost reduction that occurs from these improved results.

How Hospitals Can Become Certified as a Comprehensive Stroke Center

So, why then aren’t more hospitals certified as CSCs? The requirements include an in-house neurosurgery unit, specialized training, and space. Currently, 350 U.S. hospitals are equipped to perform the procedures and are working through the process to receive certification as comprehensive stroke centers. According to the AHA, Comprehensive Stroke Center Certification is given to hospitals that meet standards to treat the most complex stroke cases. Eligibility standards include all components of a basic or Primary Stroke Center plus:

experience and expertise treating patients with a variety of ischemic strokes, intracerebral hemorrhage, and subarachnoid hemorrhage

The certification is provided through a partnership between the American Heart Association and the American Stroke Association as well as The Joint Commission.

Our strategy focuses on enabling our clients to recruit the right people for the structure in which they will perform. Please contact us to learn more about our expertise in Executive Search for Commercial Leadership positions in Medical Device and Biotechnology; including Marketing, Strategy, Sales Leadership, Training, Development, etc. We look forward to the opportunity to help you consistently improve your performance and your business!

Suzy Welch, author, and CNBC contributor says that all effective managers have a unique weapon at their disposal which they have used to take their management skills to the next level. What is it? Candor. She advises that managers who speak to their team members frankly, tend to earn respect more easily.

This may sound simple and even counterintuitive considering today’s increasing “p.c.” business environment. However, research shows that candidates want to work for people they respect and trust. By adopting a culture of candor, management can improve their employee’s overall satisfaction.

What is Candor?

Candor is synonymous with purity, fairness, unreserved honesty, forthrightness and sincere expression among others. A manager who uses candor is an emotionally intelligent leader who gains the trust of his team through transparency and openness.

Candor Facilitates Transparency and Trust

In a 2014, American Psychological Association survey of more than 1,500 U.S. workers, it was found that distrust was pervasive among most employees. More than 25 percent of employees stated that they did not trust management or the company for which they worked. Only half of those employees reported that they felt their employers were “up front” with them on all matters. This lack of trust may be due to either perceived or actual transparency issues. Following the financial collapse of 2008, many have become cynical toward corporations and management, assuming that they are being kept in the dark about at least some issues.

Three Tips on Being More Candid with Your Team

The first step is to make it a point to have regular meetings with your team where corporate goals are discussed. When an employee can see the big picture they can understand their role and how it fits into those aims. Understandably, they will be more likely to place trust into management that keeps them in the loop.

Encourage open discussion. Whether you introduce a team forum or simply make it a point to invite commentary, it is important to keep the channel of communication open.

Avoid censorship. This is a tough one. We all know that a disgruntled or unhappy employee is like a disease that spreads. However, as part of your commitment to open discussion, refrain from censoring negative comments on Slack or message forum. Instead, take the opportunity to show yourself responsive and address the comments personally. Take note of the criticism as if there is no ulterior motive, even if you suspect otherwise. Inquire if others have had the same feelings or experiences. By keeping open communication, you have the opportunity to address the smoke before it becomes a fire.

Proof Candor Works

There are several clear advantages a manager enjoys once they cut out the corporate jargon and talk straight with their team. Employee alignment occurs when you take the time to look at the big picture goals and help each member understand their role within the organization. Candid leadership fosters employees who understand the company vision and want to be a part of helping achieve company-wide goals.

When leaders show transparency and openness to ideas, problems are solved faster. Be open and honest with your teams about company challenges. Utilize your employees to help provide solutions. This simple act will breed employee engagement, which we all know is key to employee satisfaction.

Our strategy focuses on enabling our clients to recruit the right people for the structure in which they will perform. Please contact us to learn more about our expertise in Executive Search for Commercial Leadership positions in Medical Device and Biotechnology; including Marketing, Strategy, Sales Leadership, Training, Development, etc. We look forward to the opportunity to help you consistently improve your performance and your business!

The bioresorbable stent was approved for use by the FDA in July of 2016. The Absorb GT1 Bioresorbable Vascular Scaffold System, manufactured by Abbott, was all set to solve a litany of the problems inherent with conventional cardiac and vascular stents.

Conventional stents, made of flexible metal can create a situation where blood clots and scar tissue formed increasing the possibility of stent failure and restenosis, followed by a sequelae of other complications. Drug eluting stents were and are an improvement over traditional stents as they slowly emit medication that prevents cell proliferation, thrombosis, and reduces failure.

For more than a decade, Abbott developed the stent made of a bioabsorbable plastic which dissolved back into the bloodstream after its work was done. By the time the device received FDA approval, it was already in use in over 100 countries with over 125,000 placements. So, how then could the safety concerns related to the device seemingly pass under the radar of the FDA?

Timing is Everything, in Perspective

It seems that part of the problem is operator error and the other part of this failure is timing. At least some of the late failure data, prompting Abbott to pull the stents from the European market is from the first studies that were conducted before the learning curve was realized. For example, across the cohort early-on, the stents were implanted around 20 percent of the time into very narrow arteries. Furthermore, less than 50 percent of these patients received pre-dilation of the vessels and fewer only 12 percent received adequate post-dilation.

Recently, it has come to light that various implantation techniques were used which were not consistent with the best practice guidance issued by Abbott. Interestingly, the target lesion failure rates and incidence of device thrombosis coincide with some of these numbers.

“At 3 years, the rates of TLF and definite/probable scaffold thrombosis were 10.8% and 2.7%, respectively,” says lead investigator Gregg Stone, MD of Columbia University Medical Center

The Importance of Device Manufacturer Education Programs

The Absorb stent is just one example highlighting the importance of education programs within the clinical environment. Training must be carried out by suitably qualiﬁed reps who have been deemed competent by the product manufacturer.

But knowing that Abbott has a rigorous training program it seems unlikely that the interventionalists in question were not offered adequate training. What it does bring to the forefront are the challenges that these device educators and sales representatives face. Due to liability, the role of educator in a deemed “theater of operation” is increasingly limited.

We recognize that in modern medicine, we cannot carry out the job we do without assistance of a vast range of medical devices and advanced technical equipment. However, medical devices are only as effective as the person in charge of them.

Our strategy focuses on enabling our clients to recruit the right people for the structure in which they will perform. Please contact us to learn more about our expertise in Executive Search for Commercial Leadership positions in Medical Device and Biotechnology; including Marketing, Strategy, Sales Leadership, Training, Development, etc. We look forward to the opportunity to help you consistently improve your performance and your business!

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